Building student’s vocabulary will enhance their ability to express themselves more effectively in the future. Students learn and retain concepts when they understand vocabulary. Teachers can help build students vocabulary in various ways. The following is Marzano’s building vocabulary strategy which consists of six steps.
1. Provide a description, explanation, or example of the new term (Student Friendly)
· Provide examples of the term from your own experience · Tell or read a story that integrates the term · Describe your own mental picture of the term · Find or create pictures that explain the term
2. Students restate the description, explanation, or example in their own words.
· Help students develop understanding so they can describe word in own words · Must be student’s original ideas, not copying the teacher · Associate new term with those already known
3. Ask students to construct a picture, symbol, or graphic representing the word. · Provide examples of student’s drawings that represent the ideas · Play “Pictionary” · Draw an example of the term · Dramatize the term using speech bubbles · Let them find a picture on the internet, if necessary
This is an example of the Vocabulary Worksheet that can be used:
4. Engage students periodically in activities that help them add to their knowledge of the terms in their notebook
· Highlight prefixes, suffixes, root words that will help students remember the meaning of the term · Identify synonyms and antonyms for the term · List related words · Write incomplete analogies for students to complete · Allow students to write (or draw) their own analogies · Sort or classify words · Compare similarities and differences
5. Periodically ask students to discuss the terms with one another.
· Think-Pair-Share · Compare students descriptions of the term · Describe students pictures to one another · Have students explain to each other any new information they have learned · Identify areas of disagreement or confusion and seek clarification
6. Involve students periodically in games that allow them to play with terms.
· Pictionary · Memory · Jeopardy (vocab words are on the board, players make up a question to define) · Charades · Name that Category ($100,000 Pyramid) · Talk a Mile a Minute (like Catch Phrase) · Bingo (you give definition, kid marks the word) · Create a skit (assign groups of 3-4 kids 3 vocab words to make a skit out of) · Swat Game (post 2 sets of words, kids on 2 teams compete to find words first and swat with fly-swatter)
Created By: Jessica Cepeda :)
(un)official critique by Krista Moser
I love the idea of incorporating games into learning vocabulary. It seems that many educators rely solely on individual learning of vocab, either by having the students take home a vocab sheet to fill out themselves, or by having them create their own vocab list. I am a firm believer in cooperative learning because retention levels are highly increased as well as the enjoyment of the learning process. In addition, associating vocabulary words with pictures is invaluable to visual learners as well as word association for other types of learning.
Your page is extremely helpful with providing ideas of building vocabulary in the classroom and I look forward to using Marzano's 6-step method.
Building student’s vocabulary will enhance their ability to express themselves more effectively in the future. Students learn and retain concepts when they understand vocabulary. Teachers can help build students vocabulary in various ways. The following is Marzano’s building vocabulary strategy which consists of six steps.
1. Provide a description, explanation, or example of the new term (Student Friendly)
· Provide examples of the term from your own experience
· Tell or read a story that integrates the term
· Describe your own mental picture of the term
· Find or create pictures that explain the term
2. Students restate the description, explanation, or example in their own words.
· Help students develop understanding so they can describe word in own words
· Must be student’s original ideas, not copying the teacher
· Associate new term with those already known
3. Ask students to construct a picture, symbol, or graphic representing the word.
· Provide examples of student’s drawings that represent the ideas
· Play “Pictionary”
· Draw an example of the term
· Dramatize the term using speech bubbles
· Let them find a picture on the internet, if necessary
This is an example of the Vocabulary Worksheet that can be used:
4. Engage students periodically in activities that help them add to their knowledge of the terms in their notebook
· Highlight prefixes, suffixes, root words that will help students remember the meaning of the term
· Identify synonyms and antonyms for the term
· List related words
· Write incomplete analogies for students to complete
· Allow students to write (or draw) their own analogies
· Sort or classify words
· Compare similarities and differences
5. Periodically ask students to discuss the terms with one another.
· Think-Pair-Share
· Compare students descriptions of the term
· Describe students pictures to one another
· Have students explain to each other any new information they have learned
· Identify areas of disagreement or confusion and seek clarification
6. Involve students periodically in games that allow them to play with terms.
· Pictionary
· Memory
· Jeopardy (vocab words are on the board, players make up a question to define)
· Charades
· Name that Category ($100,000 Pyramid)
· Talk a Mile a Minute (like Catch Phrase)
· Bingo (you give definition, kid marks the word)
· Create a skit (assign groups of 3-4 kids 3 vocab words to make a skit out of)
· Swat Game (post 2 sets of words, kids on 2 teams compete to find words first and swat with fly-swatter)
Created By: Jessica Cepeda :)
(un)official critique by Krista Moser
I love the idea of incorporating games into learning vocabulary. It seems that many educators rely solely on individual learning of vocab, either by having the students take home a vocab sheet to fill out themselves, or by having them create their own vocab list. I am a firm believer in cooperative learning because retention levels are highly increased as well as the enjoyment of the learning process. In addition, associating vocabulary words with pictures is invaluable to visual learners as well as word association for other types of learning.
Your page is extremely helpful with providing ideas of building vocabulary in the classroom and I look forward to using Marzano's 6-step method.